


Something New

by URAN0METRIA



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Canon, Dating Scandal, Friends to Lovers, Implied Smut, M/M, Making Out, Nct dream ensemble - Freeform, non-au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25950355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/URAN0METRIA/pseuds/URAN0METRIA
Summary: A simple picture was enough to break the internet that day, it was also all it needed to strain Jeno and Jaemins friendship.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Kudos: 47





	Something New

He peeked though the blanket and saw how focused Jaemin was with his phone in hand.

“Anything bothering you?”, Jeno dared to ask, mercifully scared of the answer.

“Just…, you know, rumors”, his white, pale, hair hiding his lost stare, which of course Jeno loved, but he was not going to admit that, not while he was alive.

“Just remember they are rumors, alright? They can talk about whatever they want, but you have to know and stand your ground, I don’t want you to change just because some people are snooping around in our life.” That was the last thing Jeno said before standing up and turning off the T.V, giving Jaemin a little pat on the back while heading out to his room.

  
That short moment seemed mortifying, should he turn around and give more encouraging words to Jaemin? Maybe he could take him out for some snacks... No, he couldn’t do that, the rumors would just aggravate if they were to be seen at this hour, the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Jaemin in any way. He threw his blanket over his bed and carefully removed his socks before plummeting down onto his bed, Jeno looked at the ceiling and reached for his phone, the thought of calling Doyoung to ask him for advice crossed his mind but he ended up turning the idea down due to his own fatigue and a growing headache, instead, he covered his eyes with his hands and decided to list the events that lead the dorms to be so quiet for a couple of days now.

First, Jaemin and him had decided to go out for a walk, laughing while walking down the street with a need for food on both their heads. Johnny recommended them a new coffee shop and they had decided to stop by it before returning to the dorms, Jeno paid for their drinks while Jaemin searched for an empty space to sit down on the busy shop. It surprised him that they weren’t recognized considering how awfully loud they were when entering the place.  
Once they were both eye to eye, with their drinks on hand, Jaemin began to spill his torrent of thoughts to Jeno: “Isn’t it amazing how we haven’t been asked for an autograph? Considering how handsome I am, I’m surprised people haven’t noticed me”, he added, making Jeno laugh and reach out for his hand, lacing their fingers together while Jaemin continued to rumble his way into his head, something Jeno didn’t mind at all. That was their first mistake.  
After they left the shop, Jeno continued holding Jaemins hand, it wasn’t a big deal, they did that all the time, it was their way of telling one another that they were following not only his aimless words but also his thoughts, it was a sweet technique that always gave Jaemin confidence, they weren’t able to do that in front of an audience, so they would switch it up to eye contact followed by a quick smile.  
Sadly, on their way back to the dorms, they found themselves to be caught up on a crowd of people who were witnessing some street performers, Jeno let Jaemin go first while carefully holding his waist, but everyone knows Jaemin, and if he had a witty thought he was going to spill it out, so he quickly turned around and faced Jeno, both quite close due to a group of foreigns who were now paying close attention to the dance group in front of them. Their proximity created a certain provocative image, “If someone looked at it from another angle, it might look like we’re kissing”, Jeno thought while simultaneously laughing at Jaemins joke. That was their second mistake.  
Jeno continued holding Jaemins waist once they were out of the crowd, ignoring certain looks from a group of older women who were passing by.

“You know, I think one day we should run away from all of this and hide in the woods”, Jeno murmured towards Jaemin, causing Jaemin to look at him in disbelief.

“But who’s going to take care of your cats if we’re away?” It didn’t matter how much time you spent with Jaemin, sometimes his answers would be unexpected.

“Is it a yes or a no to my proposal? My mom can take care of my cats” Jeno added, laughing at Jaemins thinking face.

“I’ll have to think about it, you’re really annoying to deal with and we’ll probably have the police looking for us,”, the road towards the dorms becoming shorter and shorter with each step, “you also snore sometimes so I wouldn’t like to hear that first thing in the morning, ugly boy” Jeno laughed at Jaemins response and softly patted his back.

“Ah, my Jaemin, what would I do without your harshful insults” They looked around the building to check if no one was following them and, once they were sure about their safety, they entered, Jenos hand now on Jaemins nape, playing carefully with his hair. Unaware of the paparazzi that had been following them since they left the dorms.

What you saw the next day of their “date” were news and articles making assumptions about their relationship. “Jaemin and Jeno (NCT) both seen together at a local coffee shop”, “Can you guess how close Jaemins and Jenos friendship is? Are they really only friends or is the couple hiding something from the fans?” Those were some of the titles that drowned the local media, but what exactly was steering so much movement on those forums? The answer was one simple pic that you were able to see for free once you clicked one of those articles, a picture that resembled a kiss between the members at the same time those two were stuck between street performers. A simple picture was enough to break the internet that day, it was also all it needed to strain Jeno and Jaemins friendship.

Next thing they knew, a public statement was given to the fans and media. “It was a simple hangout and pictures taken out of context, nothing more is happening between the members of NCT Dream”, one of their managers said, being followed by Jeno and Jaemin bowing down as an apology while being photographed by reporters. The company had already paid good money in order to delete that picture and all of the articles that covered the topic. It seemed as if that scandal was soon to be forgotten, but people liked to talk, and Jaemin liked to hear. Soon, if you searched hard enough (which Jaemin did), you would find forums in which fans discussed the recent scandal, making their own theories and carelessly spreading their words. Those types of discussions weren’t supposed to reach Jaemin, but they did, and they hitted him hard, causing Jaemin to go completely silent for a couple of days. But don’t think so lowly of him, he was not scared of the media opinion, he was scared of his own thoughts that lingered his head once he was around Jeno, he was scared of the need to kiss him that ran through this veins. Jaemin was scared of himself and the sudden realization that he might have fallen in love with his best friend. Of course, that last part was unknown to Jeno, even though something similar was happening to him.

Chenle quickly noticed how off Jaemin was once those rumors were out, he was no fool and his mind always worked shoulder to shoulder with what was happening in the real world, a world in which they could be harmed. The first thing in the morning Chenle did after their conference was to stay the night in the dorms, telling his mother how much Jaemin needed a shoulder to lean on while the scandal was out. She complied and even packed a little lunch for Chenle to share. Once he set foot inside the place, he was greeted with an enthusiastic Jisung, they were going to share his room that day and the younger member had already prepared everything he wanted to do, Chenle hoped he would get time to speak to Jaemin, maybe even get him to spill out certain words the older member was holding dearly in his heart and which were secret to the members.

  
“Who made that?”, Jisung asked, looking directly at the small lunchbox Chenle carried on one hand.

“Oh, it’s something my mom made for Jaemin, where is he? I should give him this first and then we can chill”, Chenle said, his eyes sliding around the apartment with stealth.

“Right, he’s on his room, you should maybe also talk to him, he’s been a little sensible since the... articles went out”, Jisung took Chenles backpack and walked straight to his own room, leaving Chenle alone in the living room. He gave a quick smile to Jeno, who has focused on a reality show on T.V, and walked towards Jaemins room. Once Chenle had reached Jaemins room, he knocked on the door and waited some time before making his way through the entrance.

“Hey, Jaemin... I’m going to be spending the night here and my mom wanted me to give you this gift, you know, so you can cheer up a little”, he left the lunchbox on Jaemins bed and then proceeded to sit down beside it. “You can talk to me, I won’t judge you, and I also won’t tell no one”, Chenle added, patting onto the blankets that covered Jaemins body.

“It’s alright”, Jaemin said, finally sitting down and facing Chenle, he had been crying, “, those were just rumors”. Chenle wriggled in his place and analyzed his friend face.

“Are you sure? Because I can realize you were crying, if a manager told you something I can go and beat them up”, the sentence was finished with a weak smile, trying to make Jaemin feel better but failing.

“It’s just, I’ve been thinking a lot, that’s all”, the older took the lunchbox in his hands and smiled, “Tell your mother that I said thank you”, and with that small phrase, Chenle knew he was not welcomed there for the rest of the day, causing him to quickly stand up and nod with compliance.

“Sure, if you need anything else I’ll be with Jisung”. He was disappointed, to say at least, he had hoped for Jaemin to magically spill out his true feelings for Jeno, or maybe his frustrations regarding the situation, but getting the cold shoulder was something he hadn’t expected. Before leaving he lingered around the door for a while, hoping for Jaemins redemption, but he didn’t get it.

  
At the time Jaemin saw Chenle leaving his room he wished he had said something more, maybe if he had the courage his feelings wouldn’t hurt his heart so much. “You’ll feel better once you accept what’s been bothering you”, Jaemin remembered those words his mom used to say every time he felt down for no apparent reason. _Well, mom, it’s easier to accept that I got caught cheating in an exam than accepting that maybe I’m in love with my best friend_ , Jaemin thought as a refutal, opening the lunchbox and finding some brownies, he left them on the bed and decided to go to the kitchen for some milk, making sure his steps weren’t making too many noise.  
Once he was outside of his room and on the way to the living room, his heart froze, why was Jeno there? He continued walking with his head down and quickly reached for the fridge with his phone in hand, grabbing the milk and letting it rest on the counter, hoping he would seem busy while he faked texted someone. This leads us to our current situation, Jaemin poured some milk into a glass once Jeno had left and he waited some time before sneaking into Jenos room, maybe they could talk a little and it would help him clear his mind. But he was still afraid once he opened the door to his best friends room, and before talking to Jeno, he wished he had left his heart at the counter too.

“Hey, can we talk?”, Jaemin interrupted Jenos train of thoughts, closing the door behind him and walking towards the bed. Jeno quickly looked up once he distinguished Jaemins voice and he tried brushing his hair in an effort of looking more presentable.

“Sure, uhm, here, sit down by me”, he answered, clearing space in his bed so Jaemin could occupy it.

“I’m glad you decided to, well, come here. I was thinking about staying with you on the living room but I’m a bit of a coward”, Jenos words caused Jaemin to smile and notch down his own thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m glad I did, it’s just that... I’m feeling really tired, it’s not nice to stay up all night”, that last sentence alarmed Jeno.

“How so? What have you been thinking about?”, he asked, looking deeply into Jaemins gaze, holding eye contact until Jaemin decided to look at his own hands.

“Uhm, I’ve been reading some articles that the fans made”, he said, anxiously moving his hands, “, they’re making a lot of theories and that got me thinking...”, Jeno tried to meet Jaemins eyes and he smiled when Jaemin followed his gaze for the second time that day.

“Thinking about...?”, Jaemin straightened his back and bit his lip.

“About what I feel”. Jeno nodded and kept quiet, ordering his thoughts once again, the idea of confessing his feelings to Jaemin right there and then seemed right, but what if Jaemin was actually going to put an end to their relationship? Jeno swallowed his excitement and then proceeded to ask:

“And what do you feel?”, Jaemin looked at him with fear and, for once, Jeno was sure about the future ahead.

“I feel that I love you”.

The room went silent and Jaemin felt tears forming around his eyes, fear engulfed him and it shamed him, _I should’ve not said that_ , Jaemin thought to himself, _now our friendship is ruined_ , but, instead of standing up in embarrassment and leaving the room, he felt a soft pair of lips against his, Jenos lips. His eyes went wide open and he looked at his friend, who had his eyes closed and hands traveling up his shoulders. The kiss was chaste and quick, but the emotion it exploded inside Jaemin could not been compared to anything he had ever felt before, and once it was over, Jaemin was the one pulling Jeno towards him to kiss him again, laughing with relief once they were both looking at each other.

“Does that mean you like me too?”, Jaemin asked, his hands hovering over Jenos thighs.

“Yes, that means I like you too”, Jeno answered, placing one of his hands one Jaemins cheeks and smiling softly, “, you want to know how I realized?” Jaemin quickly nodded, taking a deep breath while waiting for Jeno to continue.

  
“I realized because I was not only holding your hand to give you confidence, but because I wanted everyone to know our bond. I wanted people to see us and think: Ah, I want something like that. The idea of us both together, being more than friends, made me feel at ease, as if that was everything that deeply mattered in my life, and when I looked at you smile I knew you were the person I wanted to spent my whole life with”, Jeno made a pause, now holding Jaemins hands between his, making sure his pair was hearing everything he said, “. I realized when dating rumors raised between you and your coworkers and I found myself hoping you would deny them. All I wanted to do was to kiss you every single time you told me you loved me in front of the cameras, but I held myself back due to fear and judgment, but you know something? I found myself losing that same fear when I saw you being yourself in front of thousands of people, you gave me that confidence that I needed and when I woke up every day I just wished for you to keep your crazy ideas the same, so yeah, I think that is when I realized that I had fallen in love with you.”

Jaemin felt color creeping his way up to his face and he tried to hide between the sheets.

“My God, Jeno, since when are you such a hopeless romantic?”, he said, now laughing and looking at his older member.

“Since you appeared in my life, dumbass, this is all your fault”, Jeno answered, following Jaemin and now laying down with him, softly kissing his forehead.

“Well, thank God I appeared in your life because I wouldn’t be able to imagine you kissing women”, Jeno laughed at Jaemins comment and squeezed his arm.

“I confessed my undying love for you and you start insulting me? I might as well take it back”, he said, being glad that everything was back to normal now... or was it really all back to normal?

“Lee Jeno, you take that confession back and I’ll crop your cats hair, I’m not even joking”, Jaemin said, trying to look fierce while holding another big smile.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I won’t take it back”, Jeno stretched his arms and holded Jaemin close to him, “, but I also want to know what we’re going to do now”, he added.

“Well, maybe tomorrow you can make me breakfast and I might consider dating you. I’ll also need fifty kisses as payment and a daily hug”, Jaemin firmly stated, brushing Jenos hair before giving him a quick kiss, enjoying what was left of the night and wishing it never ended.

“Sounds fair enough, I make some fire hotcakes”, Jeno laughed at his own comment, making sure they were both covered by one of his blankets, “. You should stay here you know, because it’s getting real late and I heard that the dorm at this hour gets really dangerous, I’m serious, Renjun might come out and kidnap you”, he added, looking carefully into Jaemins eyes while enjoying the latters’ laugh.

“Alright, I’ll stay here, but if you start snoring I’m going to suffocate you”, Jeno nodded and then proceeded to kiss him for one more time.

Jaemin grappled Jenos shirt and tried to deepen the kiss, becoming overwhelmed with joy once that happened, Jenos hands traveled all the way down to Jaemins legs and they stayed there, he groped his thighs and made him turn around, causing Jeno to now be on top of Jaemin without the intention to stop, he accommodated himself between the younger and smiled once Jaemin passed his legs through Jenos waist, pulling him closer and making them both let out a breathy gasp, they were starting to get needy and Jeno knew that if he heard Jaemin moan he wouldn’t be able to stop himself, so he did exactly that and started kissing Jaemins neck, letting his hands roam free towards his partner body and smiling once he felt how Jaemins nails clawed his back. Carefully, he left wet kisses around Jaemins chest and searched for the others hand, lacing their fingers together once more while using his other hand to unbutton Jaemins shirt, “You want to do this?”, Jeno asked, continuing once Jaemin let out a weak yes.  
And that’s how they spent their night, longing for one another and touching each other with care, Jaemin had lost count of how many times Jeno had asked him if he was okay, but that didn’t seemed to matter once his toes curled up in pleasure when he reached his first orgasm, not even paying attention to how late it already was when he holded Jenos head between his hands and wished to stay like that forever, both of them whispering each others names, finding their way through the ecstasy of the moment in order to kiss each other and profess hundreds of prayers, lost in their own world and discovering every single line on their bodies, memorizing Jenos physique with his hands, thanking those goddamn rumors for making him experience what he now called the cusp of humanity. If they were both to be punished for eternity due to their sins, then so be it, because if forgiveness meant forgetting his lover touch, then he’ll rather be damned for the rest of humankind.

_—Jeno, what will happen to us later?_  
_—Jaemin, it doesn’t matter if God himself comes down from Heaven, as long as I’m able to hold your hand, I think I will be able to face him undoubtedly._

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you liked whatever this is. it’s my first fic and, to be honest, I didn’t really liked it, but I’m going to try and do my best so please keep supporting me if you can! Thank you so much for reading. (I’m also really sorry if I made a spelling mistake, english is not my first language)


End file.
